Hurricane Rita Rant - DPChallenge Forums

Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 ASPH

09/23/2005 12:12:14 PM · #76

Originally posted by dahkota:

Originally posted by micknewton:

And what about the seriously sinful cities? My guess is the winds should start picking up in Washington D.C. any time now.

I never leave the house without my tin hat and my rubber umbrella. ;) Another storm is brewing off the African Coast. Maybe this one is headed our way...

I wouldnâ��t worry about it if I were you. If there is a vengeful god out there smiting the wicked sinners with hurricanes, then Iâ��m sure that s\he\it will make sure that good people like you are protected. Keep wearing the tin hat though. Iâ��m sure it looks terrific on you.

On the other hand, Iâ��m pretty sure that most of NYC is doomed. Itâ��ll probably be the first category 6 hurricane ever.

Olyuzi

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7

09/23/2005 12:12:49 PM · #77

The real "purging" going on in the gulf region is not an act of god but rather being perpetrated by government, business leaders, the military and private security mercenaries. It's an ethnic cleansing that comes with privatization and transfer of public resources to private hands.
In comes all the companies to rebuild the NOLA region with no bid contracts (these are the same companies that have huge contracts to rebuild Iraq) and that by presidential decree do not have to pay prevailing wages to workers...workers that could be the victims of the hurricane to help get back to NOLA and rebuild their lives. Instead these corporations will bring in truck loads of temporary Mexican workers and pay them a pittance. The Disnification of NOLA has already begun. It's a shame that the Bush administration looks upon this as merely a huge business opportunity and not disaster relief for humanity.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

09/23/2005 12:21:28 PM · #78

Originally posted by Olyuzi:

The real "purging" going on in the gulf region is not an act of god but rather being perpetrated by government, business leaders, the military and private security mercenaries.

Wow, are you sure? Too bad you couldn't get a photo of it for the Conspiracy challenge.

Canon EOS-60D

09/23/2005 12:22:59 PM · #79

Originally posted by micknewton:

Wow, are you sure? Too bad you couldn't get a photo of it for the Conspiracy challenge.

Thanks Mick! I spit tea all over my monitor when I read that. ;)

09/23/2005 12:35:07 PM · #80

Originally posted by laurielblack:

Thanks Mick! I spit tea all over my monitor when I read that. ;)

So happy I could help. :)

petrakka

09/23/2005 12:35:44 PM · #81

Originally posted by micknewton:

Originally posted by Olyuzi:
The real "purging" going on in the gulf region is not an act of god but rather being perpetrated by government, business leaders, the military and private security mercenaries.

Wow, are you sure? Too bad you couldn't get a photo of it for the Conspiracy challenge.

hahahahahhahahaa ohh if people would just spend time doing constructive things instead of theorizing how everyone in the world is involved in secret evil missions.

shhh but Did you hear the pope is really behind Al-Qaeda, and his intent is to rid the world of every person that isn't God fearing!

sabphoto

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

09/23/2005 12:36:10 PM · #82

Originally posted by karmat:

Originally posted by queanbeez:

Dircted to the starter of the original thread...... Bible pushers always seem to be able to translate everything that happens in the world. They'll always be this way, cant change them.

I wish I could describe how statements like this rile me and just downright get on my nerves. But since I can't, let me address the "topic."

Bible pushers, as you say (and if you knew me, would probably consider me one), do not as you say try to be able to translate everything that happens in the world. There is a SMALL faction of Christians (be it fundamental or evangelical) that seem to want to think that everything that happens is God's judgement on the earth. When hurricanes ravaged our small town last year (Western North Carolina, not exactly coastal, mind you) there were some that said it was because Canton allowed "liquor by the drink" earlier in the year. I simply looked at them and asked about all the ones that suffered outside of city limits.

Now, based on what I believe and understand from the Bible, God can/has used "natural disasters" to "purge" the earth. However, unlike Hurricane Francis, Ivan, Rita, or Katrina, He very clearly alerted those involved that He was getting ready to judge, (Noah and the Arc, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc) and gave His people a chance to repent/escape.

I would say, if you wanted to look at it from a Biblical perspective, it is probably more a "consequence" than a cause. Whilst I don't believe in all the "global warming" bruhaha, I do think that our basic existence has caused warmer temperatures (ever been in a small room with 50 people without proper ventilation). Heck, even without a population growth, all the pavement and black top we have on our roads (which, I believe, is fairly worldwide -- at least in the cities) that is a lot of heat produced. Even if we used black dirt, as many roads as there are on the Earth, that would be a lot of black dirt. (Okay, the black dirt part is tongue in cheek).

I really hate to break it to everyone, but it is not W's fault. It's not Clinton's fault. It's not Daddy's fault. It's not Reagan's fault. It's not Carter's fault, et. etc. W has been president in the most recent years, this is an issue I have heard addressed all my life. Is it time to do something about it? Yes. Is it W's responsibility? To clean up the whole world? No.

I think it begins on a personal level. We in America have gotten so used to following our government (regardless of who the president is), that we have forgotten that if we lead, they will follow. At some point, we are going to have to stop blaming everything on Bush, and look at the bigger picture, because whether you are Republican or Democrat, it is bigger than just him.

So, are these monster hurricanes God's judgement? If so, the sin is that we aren't taking responsibility for our own actions and taking care of what has been given to us.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

09/23/2005 12:37:01 PM · #83

Originally posted by micknewton:

I really hate to sound heartless, but I sure hope those evil sinners from down in Louisiana and Texas don't get evacuated to Oregon. I'd hate to have those vengeful hurricanes following them up here.

Yes, Oregon already has its own hazards ...

Tsunami Evacuation Route

Message edited by author 2005-09-23 12:37:55.

RonB

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

09/23/2005 12:40:27 PM · #84

Originally posted by Olyuzi:

Olyuzi is right. I think that we should eliminate all this NO-BID CONTRACT garbage and make all of the rebuilding subject to competitive bidding. AND give preference to minority contractors, too! That way, we should surely be able to START to get some of those bids approved and contracted and SOME rebuilding begun by 2008 or 2009. By then the City should be nice and ripe.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

09/23/2005 12:44:06 PM · #85

What's the problem with making Halliburton pay the prevailing wage and placing some sort of cap on their profits? Right now, the President has issued a declaration saying they can pay below-par wages, without requiring that any savings be turned into savings for the taxpayers rather than increased profit for the shareholders.

Why shouldn't companies serving the taxpayers be limited to some level of "reasonable" profit? Right now, they have a blank check from Uncle Sam -- no incentive to be efficient there ....

Message edited by author 2005-09-23 12:45:31.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

09/23/2005 12:47:52 PM · #86

Originally posted by petrakka:

hahahahahhahahaa ohh if people would just spend time doing constructive things instead of theorizing how everyone in the world is involved in secret evil missions.

I don't know, maybe Olyuzi is on to something here. Hurricanes are caused by hot air, right? What are politicians full of?

thatcloudthere

Canon EOS-1D

09/23/2005 12:50:25 PM · #87

Originally posted by GeneralE:

What is the stated reasoning behind allowing Halliburton to pay sub-normal wages for this cleanup? Just wondering, I haven't been paying attention to North American news...

09/23/2005 01:07:43 PM · #88

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Yes, Oregon already has its own hazards ...

Yeah, but the tsunamis that hit Oregon are just an unfortunate after-effect of sinners thousands of miles away be smitten by earthquakes. Oregon is just chock full of God fearing, knee jerk, do-gooders. Heck, we even passed a law against gay marriages.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

09/23/2005 01:09:15 PM · #89

Originally posted by micknewton:

Originally posted by GeneralE:
Yes, Oregon already has its own hazards ...

Yeah, but the tsunamis that hit Oregon are just an unfortunate after-effect of sinners thousands of miles away be smitten by earthquakes.

Like Alaska?

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

09/23/2005 01:26:42 PM · #90

Originally posted by thatcloudthere:

What is the stated reasoning behind allowing Halliburton to pay sub-normal wages for this cleanup? Just wondering, I haven't been paying attention to North American news...

Higher year end dividends for Bush and Cheany

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

09/23/2005 01:27:46 PM · #91

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Yeah, but the tsunamis that hit Oregon are just an unfortunate after-effect of sinners thousands of miles away be smitten by earthquakes.

Like Alaska? [/quote]

Exactly! Did you see what they did to Prince William Sound? Although, we havenâ��t had a big wave since 1964, and the Exxon Valdez mess happened in 1989. Maybe thatâ��s why the state is putting up all of those tsunami warning signs?

thatcloudthere

Canon EOS-1D

09/23/2005 01:46:22 PM · #92

Originally posted by louddog:

Originally posted by thatcloudthere:
What is the stated reasoning behind allowing Halliburton to pay sub-normal wages for this cleanup? Just wondering, I haven't been paying attention to North American news...

Higher year end dividends for Bush and Cheany

Wrong, that's not the stated reasoning...does anyone know the reason stated for this decision?

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

09/23/2005 02:30:53 PM · #93

Originally posted by thatcloudthere:

Originally posted by louddog:

Originally posted by thatcloudthere:
What is the stated reasoning behind allowing Halliburton to pay sub-normal wages for this cleanup? Just wondering, I haven't been paying attention to North American news...

Higher year end dividends for Bush and Cheany

Wrong, that's not the stated reasoning...does anyone know the reason stated for this decision?

Not exactly the article you're looking for, but it mentions the subject.

As I mentioned, the main problem isn't so much allowing cuts in wages, as that there's no assurance that those savings will be passed along to taxpayers -- instead they are allowed to accrue to additional shareholder profits. How is that philosophically different than any other sweatshop operation?

thatcloudthere

Canon EOS-1D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

09/23/2005 02:34:28 PM · #94

So the reason cited was that it would reduce costs, which is based on the assumption that the reduced costs would be passed on to the government rather than pocketed to increase profits.